


The Death of Hope

by Hisha



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Child Abandonment, Child Death, Gen, No happy ending here folks, Original Character Death(s), Pre-Canon, The Beast is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 06:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisha/pseuds/Hisha
Summary: "Mother had not uttered a single word ever since they'd left the house. Or looked at her directly. She must be worried about winter coming soon."
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	The Death of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I had a sudden flash of inspiration and wrote a thing for this fandom for the first time in years!  
> This is not part of my old OtGW series at all, as I've discontinued said series a long time ago. A lot of my headcanons have changed or were disproved by the canon comics. Who knows, if I get more flashes of inspiration I could come up with more stories that better reflect how I see this show's universe now.

Mother going to the forest to find food was to be expected given how little of it there was currently at home. What was more surprising was that she had asked Hope to come along instead of one of her stronger, less sickly siblings.

Hope didn't complain though. She was happy to be helpful for once. She enthusiastically searched for mushrooms and called her mother over whenever she found some. If they were actually edible, Mother would add them to her basket without a comment.

Now that the child thought of it, Mother had not uttered a single word ever since they'd left the house. Or looked at her directly. She must be worried about winter coming soon.

Hope was young but not entirely oblivious to the problems at home. She knew the last harvest had been dreadfully low. She knew this meant winter was going to be tough to get through. But in her short existence they had always made it through winter, so if they prepared themselves they would get through this one as well. If she could find more food here, everything would be fine. Right?

They went farther into the woods than Hope had ever been in her life. Then again, being bedridden as often as she was, she did not go outside very often.

Most of the autumn leaves had already fallen and formed a soft layer on the forest floor. The child was disappointed that they were not as crunchy as she had imagined they would be, but wet from recent rains and sticking to her shoes.

On the bright side, Mother's basket was full now.

“I need to fetch another basket”, she finally spoke. “Wait here.”

With her free hand she pointed at a rock large enough for the small child to sit on.

“Mother, can't I just-”

“I'm sorry.”

And with that apology, she went away, leaving her daughter sitting on a cold, wet rock in the middle of the forest.

It was starting to get dark now, but Hope couldn't leave her spot, no matter how uncomfortable it was, because her mother would find her again better if she stayed. And she will come back. She always does.

How long had she been sitting on this cold, cold rock? All Hope knew was that she couldn't feel her backside anymore, that she was trembling more and more violentely, and that it was so dark here now. The stars in the sky far above did nothing to illuminate the forest.

Mother had always told her that one should never walk the forest alone at night, so she couldn't just walk back home. She had to stay put and her family would come find her again in the morning.

She got up to shake herself and combat the cold, but did not dare take a single step away from her spot. Would she even be able to find home now anyway? Probably not.

She stopped what she was doing when she heard singing in the distance. Who could be out here at this hour? Could they help her? Father always told her not to trust strangers, but if there was someone else here with her then she wouldn't be walking the woods alone.

The voice got closer. Soon, she could see a bright light between the trees. She ran towards the light, towards the sound. Then the other stopped singing and she stopped moving.

Despite the lantern shinning in the stranger's hand, she couldn't quite make out what they looked like aside from glowing eyes towering above her.

“You are quite far from home”, the stranger said calmly.

He (she assume he was a he) had a very deep voice that she wasn't sure whether she should be soothed by or scared of.

“Mother told me to wait”, she explained, “but... Can you... Can you help me find home, Mister...?”

“Of course”, he replied, completely ignoring her second, implied question about his identity. “I know these woods well.”

Hope considered pointing out she had never seen him before, but given how little she went outside it was entirely possible that the stranger walked these parts regularly and she had simply never seen it happen. So instead she politely thanked him for his help.

“Follow my light”, he told her.

He moved through the forest just fast enough that the child couldn't catch up to him but didn't lose sight of his light either.

The lantern seemed so bright when she looked at it, yet it did very little to help her see the forest better. If anything, it made the darkness seem even harder to navigate and therefore scarier.

The stranger wasn't showing any sign of being bothered by it in the slightest ; he kept moving confidently through the trees at a consistent pace, avoiding any and all obstacles long before Hope could see them, and singing loudly about chopping wood or something to that effect.

It wasn't uncommon for her relatives to sing to themselves while working or to each other at bedtime, but it wasn't anything like what the stranger was doing right now. His voice was way more powerful and his technique was radically different. It seemed to fill the whole forest.

“ _Tralala, tralala!_ _Youth is such a fragile thing!_

_Tralala, tralala! A fragile thing is what it is!_ ”

And the song was over. The forest felt weirdly silent now, saved from the child's own footsteps.

“I like your song”, Hope complimented him.

“Why, thank you”, he replied.

She nearly tripped on a tree root ; he stopped walking to give her time to regain her balance. Once she did, she said :

“I wish I could sing like that.”

“Do you, now?”

He sounded slightly amused. The child did not see what was funny about it. Who wouldn't want to sing so confidently? Her current lung capacity would not allow her to follow his example, but maybe some day...

“When I grow big and strong”, she said, determined to not remain a sickly child forever, “will you teach me?”

“Of course”, he promised, sounding even more amused.

“What? I will grow big and strong. As strong as my brother and my sister. I'll be able to help my parents.”

“Let us press onward for now”, the stranger said, turning around again and resuming his walk.

Hope took a couple steps, then stopped for a few seconds while he pressed on. Unlike hers, his footsteps did not make any sound.

She started walking faster to try and catch up. They had been walking for a while now, and she couldn't recognise anything. She was getting tired, too. He was walking slower now so she wouldn't lose sight of his lantern.

They passed near a stream.

“Mister?” she asked, her feet aching and her entire body trembling from cold and tiredness. “Where are we?”

She would give anything to be able to rest and sleep now.

The stranger did not offer a reply, and led her farther away from the stream instead. At some point, she tripped on a rock and fell face first into the dirt.

She sat up. The light was gone : she was alone again. Would her mother be able to find her now?

She called the stranger several times, each call weaker and weaker until she fell silent. She formed a tiny protective ball with her own body as tears started running down her face.

As she sobbed quietly, she heard the stranger's voice from behind her :

“Are you finally starting to realise your mother was never planning on coming back for you?”

She sobbed louder.

“You do not have to worry anymore, Hope”, he continued in a tone that was almost soothing. “Your family only ever saw you as a burden, but here... You can grow big and strong as part of my forest.”

It was particularly foggy that day, even as Daisy was returning from the nearest town. With the pitiful harvest, she had not had much to sell and even less to buy. She had to sell her family's mule and use a small wheelbarrow to carry what she managed to acquire. Autumn was slowly fading into winter with each passing day, and she was increasingly worried they would not have enough supplies to survive it unscathed. Her youngest, Hope, had already a fragile constitution at the best of times ; she did not dare think what a harsh winter and lack of food would do to her.

Distracted as she was by these dark thoughts, she took a wrong turn while going through the forest. This wouldn't be much of a problem on its own, even with the fog, but the longer she lingered alone here, the more dangerous it got, Beast or not.

She had heard of the Beast a couple times. She had always assumed it was but a metaphor for the dangers of the woods themselves... until she saw a light transpiercing the fog, followed by a tall shadow. Were those antlers up there? Or branches blending into the silhouette of this stranger?

“Who- who are you?” Daisy asked, trying and failing to sound confident.

“You are but a guest in my forest, Daisy”, replied the deep voice of what she assumed was the Beast of legends. “I should be asking the questions.”

The fact that he knew her name made her shudder.

“I am not lost”, she stated, faking confidence a bit better now. “You have no power over me.”

“You already know your family will not survive winter”, the Beast stated. “Whether through starvation or despair, all of you will die.”

As she was about to get away, he added :

“There is still a way to save them.”

This made her freeze in place and look at the glowing eyes piercing through the fog.

“What do you want?” she asked, not believing for a second that this creature would be helpful without a price.

“It is quite obvious, is it not?” the Beast said. “You won't be able to feed everyone, but if there were but one less of you...”

“Are you suggesting...?”

“Give one of your own to me, and everyone else shall make it through winter. I will see to it.”

Daisy shivered, and this was not because of the cold.

“You want me to sacrifice someone so the rest of us can live?”

“Whoever you choose will be part of something greater by becoming one with my forest. The rest of you will benefit from my protection.”

“I can't do this! I can't...”

“Either one of you joins the forest or all of you do”, the Beast explained again. “Think about it, Daisy. I am sure you will make the right decision.”

She got away from the Beast without any more words. She soon reached her home ; her husband was waiting for her outside.

“Are the children alright?” she asked him, hoping he wouldn't notice her still shaky legs.

“Yes, yes”, he replied. “Even Hope is better now but...”

He looked into the wheelbarrow and saw how little was in it.

“Every winter I worry she might not make it”, he confessed. “Now... I am more afraid than ever.”

Both remained silent for a moment, letting the implications sink in. Their youngest child was likely to die no matter what they did. Daisy felt the choice had already been made for her.

“We will make it”, she said. “Do not worry.”

Asleep as she was now, Hope did not seem to notice the Beast's song or the Edelwood growing around her, sapping the last of her feeble strength.

He finished his song. In time, she would become a big and strong tree with plenty of oil to feed the flame.

It was quite amusing to him that she had finally given up so close to the mill by the river. She would never know it was there, so close to her location. It was not her home, but she could have gotten help there had she only pressed on a little more on her own. Now, by the time anyone in the mill would come here, Hope's transformation would be complete and a face in her bark would be the only hint that the strange hollow tree leaking dark oil was ever a person.

He might get to the rest of her family later. The loss of Hope was certain to drive them closer to him, after all. There was no rush though. He had other trees to feed on in the meantime.


End file.
